Dem Boyz
by Drime
Summary: This is not a coffeeshop au. Or any other typical au. Actually I'm sure about that. It might be one. This AU has all of the team as teens in high school, in different states, and how they might have connected despite distance. It involves hacking, introspection, friendship and many other things.
1. Chapter 1

**Inspired by the hAck Team. I have no idea where that story is or how I found it but this is loosely based around the idea.**

 **Hannibal: 18: Senior**

 **Face:15 :Sophomore**

 **BA:17 : Junior**

 **Murdock:14: Sophomore**

 **Also, I do not know anything, AT ALL about computer systems or hacking. Yep. also no ownership. P.S. Take the drugs doctors tell you to. Do not follow Murdock's example in the show.**

Everyone could tell that John Smith would make an excellent leader one day. His skills for planning and following through with tasks was admired by adults, while his refusal to back down from a fight inspired other teens. His skills, wit, and hints of charm were sure to help him lead a fantastic team. Eventually. For now all his peers either feared or hated his guts; sometimes they did both simultaneously. His carefree attitude annoyed many. He was left mostly alone, if only because of the slightly crazed glint in his eyes.

John chews slowly on his fresh stick of gum, running through his different email accounts, searching. He is creating through his emails, looking for cases that he is confident are not false. The teenagers prefers the difficult cases, working out for the email and himself what has occurred. People come to him because he finds things that the police are legally unable to find or that they do not notice and either reports it himself, publishes it to the general public, or gives the information to the inquirer.

John Smith is a hacker of extreme skill.

He cracks through code to gain evidence for and against people. And while his actions may be slightly illegal, they certainly did help with clearing names and catching criminals. Plus he is never caught, backed by a vast knowledge of techniques and strategy. This for justice and for the payment that he received from the party asking him to do it. This money is a pretty good bonus for putting down slime balls. Of course there were fakes attempting to get information on other honest people, but when he figures them out he refuses to share the information and helps defend the place from further attack, losing the money he could have gotten from the job.

John pauses in his chewing, letting a wide grin come over him. He has a message in one of his other fake email accounts. Entering it, he reads through the description, plans forming in his head. The emailer knew that this account is in contact with a skilled hacker who is willing to help innocents and condemn guilties for a small price. He sends a reply that he would pass the message on. This young male, if he is telling the truth, is asking for help against another hacker that is messing with his mother's store records. Beginning his plans, John thinks quietly as he chews his gum. Sometimes, when he is hacking he wished he had someone else to help him with, increasing the ferocity of the attack and to have his back if things started to go wrong.

'Oh well.'

John Smith signs around his gum and starts his mission. Pretty soon he is smiling predatorily. Oh yeah, this is going to be fun.

Templeton Peck had friends. Lots of friends who were always inviting him places and giving him things. Yet he felt alone. Everyone liked him, including the adults. The constant smiles directed at him and the cheerful faces oftentimes lead him to feel sick inside. They were not for the real him, rather, the personality he had felt was necessary to construct. He felt as though he was losing real self to the lies.

Templeton drops his act as soon as he enters his room at the orphanage, letting his face relax into a neutral look. Then a genuine smile envelopes his face as he eagerly shuts his door. He pulls out the laptop he had saved up over several months for from its hiding place. It is his favorite of his few possessions. Quickly, he taps away, checking around the web for something to do. A comment on social media attracts his attention. Some lady is complaining about their boss and subtly revealing that the boss maybe stealing money, without realising it. The teen sets about PMing the commenter with a fake identity, pulling information on her boss and the systems at her workplace without her really noticing, between flirts and conversation.

Swiftly, Templeton sets about diving into the man's systems, checking if the info had been correct. He found that the man is stealing from other businesses and is getting money from under the counter dealings. It is only way his account balances would make any sense with the rapid increase of cash without a rapid increase in his legitimate business to accompany it. Templeton hacks further into the man's system, finding the footage of the deals and meetings with people working with the man against the law. Though they were deleted, Templeton is able to trace them down and copy them. Nothing deleted from a system is truly ever gone.

Templeton gathers as much of the info as he can into a file and sends it to the police department's computer system. 'That should be enough to spark their curiosity.' Templeton smiles a real smile, the first one of the day. If only he had no one else to share it with, but he had only himself.

B.A. Baracus was a intimidating, but generally kind teen. As long as you stayed away from his van and computer, it was pretty easy to stay on his good side. He had a lot of older friends who were mechanics, interested in that aspect of his hobbies. But he had yet to have a friend that was interested in computers. While there were computer geeks at his school, they all feared him too much to be his friends due to his size, numerous gold chains,and intimidating nature. It was hard for him to keep his nose clean in his area, with the local gangs constantly trying to recruit him.

B.A. hums softly as he puts together another computer in his room. Machine parts sit on shelves all around him. Everything is organized so that he could easily find the part that he needs. He adjusts a few things within the core processor of the computer to make it faster. Satisfied with how it looks, he begins putting all the separate parts back together. As they all click into place, BA nods happily.

Deciding to test the newly updated systems, he boots up the machine. It smoothly awakens, whirring happily to life. He moves online as soon as it awakens all the way. B.A. enters one of his favorite chat rooms. Proceeding to talk to a few strangers about computer building, he stays online for an hour or so. Sadly, while he often talks to others online about computers, B.A. could never seem to gain any friends there mainly due to their general apathy for anything else. He had many acquaintances, but none that he truly trusted. This bothers him a little, adding slowly to his feeling of loneliness in this area of his intrests. Afterwards he logs off and gets to building up his computers new security coding, adding and improving on the system he had built a few weeks ago. He patiently sets it up, then tries hacking into it to break it down again. The mechanic wants to ensure his system could keep out invaders, whether they be human or virus.

Tapping lightly on his keyboard he gets to work diving through his system in any way possible. Maybe one day he'll create the ultimate defense with no chinks in the armor. For now he just works slowly towards his goal alone.

Murdock was insane. Legally. He was tested and doctors found that he did have a mental issue. Which disorder? That was what the doctors were unsure of. Or if it was only one. His grandparents were given pills to make him act somewhat normal. Typically these medications did little to affect his mannerisms. So he still acted very different from the norm of society. Parents warned their kids to stay away from him, advice they would have followed anyway, even if not given it. Murdock's lack of sanity scared others, even though he was not really dangerous. This all mixed together made him feel rather lonely, even when talking to people who were not there.

Murdock throws his head back and lets out an excited howl. The noise rebounds off the walls of his room in the attic. He perches on the top of the dresser, letting out helicopter noises, howls, and pretending to fly the nonexistent machine. Enjoying the height off the ground and the world he is convinced must be real, he howls wildly and more loudly than before. He can hear gunfire and the sounds of antiaircraft shifting and swirling all around him. The sound and visuals splinter and hurtles apart, leaving Murdock dazed and despaired, when his grandmother walks in. She gently reminds him that he is not allowed on his dresser. He looks down at it, confused as to how he had gotten onto it and where his helicopter went. Murdock slowly gets down.

She calmly asks whether he had taken his medication for the day. Lying, he nods his head, not wanting to take the revolting pills. They made him feel wrong, toning down his energy levels, which made him depressed. He had to take antidepressants, confusing his brain and making the anxiety rise. Which is countered by yet another set of medical drugs. It eventually lead him to feeling absolutely nothing. Most of the time he only took anti-anxiety and antidepressants, smuggling the other pills into a trash can that is not located at his house. Murdock has told his guardian and doctors of his dislike of the medically induce feeling of nothingness, but they insisted that it is helping him.

He quietly walks over to his grandmother and hugs her. She pats his head, sighing. Then she leaves the room and Murdock goes over to his computer. Waking from illusions of warzone flying made him feel in a fighting mood. Zooming through the internet, the young teen notes places that most likely are doing illegal things. Happily he verifies the that info he gains. Murdock also checks on places he had hit before, seeing if they had changed their ways yet. Yanking his baseball cap a little further down his head, he gets to work. Occasionally, he lets out a soft howl or bit of song and bounces in excitement.

Hacking into a business that is selling illegal drugs on the side, Murdock begins to do what he does best with computers. He causes huge amount of disruption and breaking down within the system, messing it up and setting the business back a couple of weeks. While not permanent, it felt better than doing absolutely nothing. Murdock proceeds to other places, raining down chaos. He returns to places if they do not stop their illegal activities within the week. There were several places he hit over and over. He even left notes every time, warning them to stop their illegal activities and to return to the straight and narrow. A few minutes later he falls into another illusion.


	2. Chapter 2

John sighs as he walks into his room, slightly weary from his school day. Once again it had been necessary for him to cut some slime ball down to size. While fun, it took a bit of effort on his part. Turning on his computer, he sees a request for help in one of his many email inboxes. Grabbing a fresh pack of gum, he puts a stick in his mouth and chews. Setting off, he reviews the info given to him, verifies its legitimacy, and enters into the system. After all he had some more slime balls to take care of.

Templeton sits in his room quietly, surfing the web. Finding something of interest, he decides to investigate it. Some scummy manager is abusing the women working underneath him. A perfect case for Peck. Finding the staff directory with great ease, Templeton starts emailing a woman from the company from an alternate email. He soon cons her into giving him info on how to get into the security system by here telling him the codes.

Happily, he moves on, not tripping any of the systems internal alarms. He moves to a file filled with video footage from the hall where the abuse sometimes happened. There the ease of the journey ended. Someone else is already in the file, doing what, Templeton could not tell. Whatever it is they were keeping out all other comers. Perhaps they were there to delete the footage, which would explain the block entrance to the file. Taking a deep, calming breath Templeton dives into the coding.

John frowns when he notices that someone else is trying to get into the file. He pushes back while copying the video onto prepared disc and into a backup file on his computer.

'Whoever is hacking me is pretty good.'

He silently praises the hacker trying to get past him, shifting into his less often used set of skills to keep the other out. When the other hacker is continually stopped by new blocks in code, they send a message. Interested in what they might have to say, Smith clicks on the message.

 _ **Don't delete the video.**_

The plane sentence throws John for a second, then he quickly replies.

 **Wasn't planning on it.**

 _ **Then why are you here?**_

John appreciates the use of full words with are and you. It is refreshing for someone to spell words properly while messaging.

 **To copy the video, then send it to the police and publish it online.**

A pause and then the video finishes downloading on both systems.

 _ **I'll cover your trail.**_

Raising an eyebrow at the suggestion, John thinks it over. It would be helpful to have another eye while erasing tracks. Why this person would trust him so quickly is slightly suspicious… Checking in the file he finds that the other hacker had used the second message as a trojan horse in order to make his own copy of the video. Deciding to let it slide, John sends his reply.

 **How about we work together to do that?**

Instantly, another message come through.

 _ **Deal**_

Templeton smiles as helps the unknown with covering the trail. He got to show off his skills and he had secretly downloaded the video for himself. Because, while the other hacker may have been telling the truth, he might not have been. After completing the sweep of the system, clearing out any traces of either of them being there, Templeton gets a message.

 **You are pretty good. The sly trick of making your own copy of the video showed your skills. If you want to work together again email me here- hannibalselephants *************.**

Templeton thinks it over, deciding to email the hacker if the company they both just hacked got into trouble within the week. He is surprised the other hacker caught his trick, but then perhaps he had given in too quickly to not be suspicious. Next time he would do better.

When it showed up on the news the next day, Templeton sent out an email from his real account.

Noting the new piece of mail in his true email's inbox, John opens it. He sees that it is from some email named winkyface ***************.

 _ **Hannibal, if that's what you want to be called, if all the hacking missions are against companies and people doing criminal acts or other things that a wrong that are overlooked by law enforcement, then, yes, I would like to join. If not, I do not.**_

Popping in a piece of gum in his mouth, the newly dubbed Hannibal grins.

 **Sure Face. All the missions that I do tend to carry that theme. Thanks for the use of a code name.**

 _ **Right back at you.**_

Chewing thoughtfully Hannibal begins setting up another account for money from missions. If he was going to have a partner, they were going to be a partner in every aspect, including getting a cut of the money.

A few missions in, all which happened in the span of a week, Face found that Hannibal deserved the name. His plans were crazy and creative, just like the use of elephants to fight the Romans. Occasionally, Face wondered what he had gotten into, but then he would go on another mission and finds that he never felt more genuinely himself.

In that same time span, Hannibal found Face worthy of being his partner, able to use his charm to get several layers of security secrets out of most office workers. Hannibal was glad to have a team mate and, if he was not reading things wrong, a friend.

To say that Face was shocked when found out that the jobs they did were payed for and that Hannibal was putting aside half for him a separate bank account is a understatement. Face flipped out upon realizing that he had earned quite a bit of money. Hannibal had enjoyed the shocked messages filled with surprise. He loved surprising people. After asking if Face wanted legal control over the account, he hand that his partner of several missions was a minor and was unable to have an account moved into his legal name.

 **[Just how old are you?]**

 **(Tell you if you tell me yours. )**

 **[Fair. 18]**

 **(15)**

 **[Ahh. I see.]**

 **(Shut up Hannibal.)**

 **[No Face, I don't think I will.]**

Later Hannibal put the money in a account under a false name and gave all related information for it over to Face so he could do with it as he pleased. While not under Face's real name, it was in all senses of the word his. Soon Face took over the accounting aspects, by figuring out what to charge people and splitting the money evenly between the two of them. Hannibal trusted him completely, knowing that Face would not betray him. This trust leads them to exchange real first names.


	3. Chapter 3

The most recent venture of the two teenage hackers ended rather alarmingly. Someone within the system had tried to reverse hack them, trying to get into their systems. Hannibal had pulled some pretty crazy stunts in the coding to throw them off, leaving the two to realize the need of better security on both of their systems if they were going to continue hacking into places.

 **(Where are we going to get better security Hannibal? I know how to break in programs but not how to construct them. It's not like you or I know anyone who could help or anyone that we trust.)**

 **[We could start online in blogs and chat rooms to see if we can find anything or anyone who can help.]**

Face sighs lightly, pondering the issue. He wonders if asking someone else to help is a good idea. After all the stranger would be familiar with their systems. Slowly, he looks through the internet, searching for anything that might help. He finds some interesting sites that list some information. When he receives a message from Hannibal twenty minutes later, he pauses his search.

 **[Found someone.]**

 **(Okay. Who?)**

 **[Some guy named PITYDAFOOL on this chat site about computers.]**

 **(Did he give any useful advice?)**

 **[Yeah. Sending it to you now Face.]**

Face looks it over, finding the info helpful and lacking any suspicious taints.

Every couple of days Face and Hannibal would consult the guy on computers using their code names and systems whether it is for their own or about others that they were trying to hack. He requested that they call him BA. They talked to the guy so often that he gave them his email, BAPITIESDAFOOL ****************, in exchange for theirs. It took very little time after trading emails for them to invite B.A. onto their team.

 **[Would you like to join our team of hackers? We hack into companies committing criminal acts that are overlooked by the police. We take the evidence we find and deliver it to the law.]**

BA stares at his screen, not quite believing what the message says. He had slowly grown to like these people he had met online. To find that they wanted to include him in their group felt, well, nice. Thinking over the idea slowly and carefully, BA decided it that it could be interesting.

 **Yes.**

 **[My real name is John. Our other members real name is Templeton]**

 **Nice to meet you. -**

A few missions in and he sees the excellence of his team mates. Face was an fantastic con man and Hannibal was an insane planer. He learned their real names, but called them nothing other than their code had just shrugged it off when he was told that he was being paid. It did not really matter to him, seeing as he was a year under age for Hannibal to convert the account to him under his legal name.

While all were happy with the group, they felt like someone was missing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Who is that?: Translating the message symbols**

 **[Hannibal]**

 **(Face)**

 **BA**

 **{Murdock}**

 **Take the drugs doctors tell you to. Do not follow Murdock's example in the show.**

Murdock sighs sadly as he sits in a chair at the kitchen table. His grandma wanted to make sure he took his pills. All of them. He swallows the ones he know will effect him the least. Then he takes the others, sneaking them under his tongue and pretends to swallow. He grins at his grandma after he take "all" his pills.

When he arrives in his room, he spits the remaining pills into a napkin for later disposal. While some helped, he'd rather feel normal, which is crazy, instead of nothing. Quickly he taps into his computer, entering a online course reviewing the parts of helicopters. He studies for a few hours, then does his real school work in less than half an hour. He already done most of it at school.

After finishing his work, he bounces through computer systems, wrecking places he had warned that had not made any moves to improve their behavior. He pauses in one place as he notices that someone else is hacking them. There were multiple hackers, indicated by the different methods being exercised. Murdock observes for a few seconds, figuring out what the were doing and notes that they were trying to get to incriminating files. Finding that the group is need of a distraction to draw the company's attention away from them, Murdock gets to work. Quickly he overloads the company's systems, shutting down their alarms and filling their monitor screens with footage of helicopters and airplanes. The other hackers leave as the system starts to crack.

[Who did the distraction guys?]

Hannibal asks his teammates the question after completing their recent mission.

Wasn't me.

(Not me either.)

[Well, who did it then? And a more importantly why?]

The conversation goes on this track for a while, all giving suggestions on how to find their mysterious helper and deciding whether they would ask them to join.

Every once in awhile, when on a mission that had them hurriedly leaving, the mysterious hacker would pop up and wreck the systems of their pursuer. A few times later, they enter the system of a company that is doing dirty under dealings in their illegally run casino, only to find that the hacker is already there, ripping the systems apart. Hannibal and B.A. work on hacking the mysterious person to send them a message, while Face went into the mess of a system to find the evidence they needed to condemn the business. The rapidly corrupting code of the business makes this difficult, but Face manages it. Hannibal is able to send a message through to the other hacker with B.A.'s help.

[Hello. We've seen you around a lot and you've helped us out multiple times. Do you want to meet online somewhere?]

The reply comes back through the channel they had opened almost instantly.

{Yeah. Where?}

[Go to chat attack and put your prefered topic as hacking team]

Hannibal moves to chat attack, entering the prefered and broadcasts his screen to his two other teammates. When he is hooked up with a stranger, he waits for the other to start.

{'Lo.}

[Name and why you keep helping us.]

{Don't feel comfortable with my whole name. Call me Murdock. The companies you targeted were already on my list due to their illegal actions that they refused to stop.}

[Do you want to join our team? We hack into companies that are doing things that you already seem against,take the evidence, and publish it.]

{Sure. But I'm running with school hours and my brain gets fuzzy at 2am.}

[Welcome to the team. My names Hannibal, the other two are Face and B.A. Can I have your email so I can contact you again?]

{Yepsy. howlinmad **********}

[Howlin mad?]

{Just call me Murdock.}

[Okay. Talk to you later Murdock.]

{Bye.}

Both get off the sight. Later that week, Hannibal emails the whole team and they start a mission together. As they work together over the next few months, they work out the kinks in their strategies and learn more things about each other. Slowly they become a team, then family. It mattered little that there was so much distance between them. BA and Hannibal grew protective of Face and Murdock as they were the youngest and felt the little brothers they never had.


	5. Chapter 5

As Halloween approached, Hannibal used some of his saved money to make a fairly expensive purchase. He sends the gifts to his teammates with a small note of instructions included. When each of them opens the gift, they all get rather excited about the matter.

Hannibal, what are these headsets for?

[So we can hear each other on missions.]

(Is anyone else concerned that he was able to hack our systems and get our exact addresses without us knowing?)

{Yeah! I get to talk to you guys! This is going to be better than that time a helicopter landed on my school.}

Nah Face. If any were to have that information, Hannibal's the highest on trustworthy individuals.

[Calm down everyone. Why don't we try them?]

(Alright.)

{Yeah!}

Sure.

Face plugs the headset into his computer. He enters the system that had been set up between the computers.

"Helloooo?"

A young voice on the line surprises Face with its slight accent.  
" Hey. Face here."

"Heyo Face!"

A gruff voice comes onto the channel.

"BA here."

"BA! Good to hear your voice macho!"

"Murdock?"

Face asks, fairly sure that is who the unidentified voice is.

"That's me!"

"This is kind of surreal."

A light chuckle fills the channel.

"It is Face."

The whole team stops talking at the sound of Hannibal's voice Hearing their leader for the first time fills them with slight awe. He is the man with a plan. Normally an insane plan, but a plan nonetheless.

"What? Cat got your tongues?"

"Nah man. It's good to hear from you."

BA's gruff voice breaks through the stunned silence of the other two.

Murdock bounces in his seat, happy to hear the voices of his team. He refrains from yelling out in his excitement, knowing it would probably irritate the others. He enjoys the novelty, yet familiarity of his friend's voices. Their speech patterns match closely with how the typed, making it easy to discern them from each other.

BA listens with interest to his teammate's voices. Somehow they sounded exactly like how he had imagined but were completely unlike his imagination at the same time. It is nice to finally have voices to go with the names, BA supposes. When he listens closely he can kind of hear background noises from each person. Murdock is accompanied by the squeaking of a chair, Face by the whisper of wind in some curtains, and Hannibal with the low sound of chewing

Hannibal smiles widely as he talks to his team. They all sound happy with the gift and with each other. The conversation spirals wildly as they grew accustomed to everyone else's speech patterns. BA and Murdock fell into a friendly argument over the existence of dragons, while Face and Hannibal start up a conversation about different card games. All in all the evening is pleasant for everyone involved.

Not only do the headsets let them know each other better, they also help them with their missions. The team could more easily work as a unit, reading each other's moves much quicker than they had before. There were arguments, discussions, and jokes that bound the boys closer, making them enjoy working together more.


	6. Chapter 6

Face is tired of lying to everyone and himself. He has created such a thick wall of deceit to hide himself and to become what others wanted, he had seemingly lost himself. Every new interaction feels like it adds a new layer. Pain curls in his stomach as he sits on his bed, staring with unseeing eyes at his computer screen. His laptop alerts him that one of his teammates is online. Faces stomach churns. He has felt progressively more comfortable with the whole group. But is he himself with them? Face lacks the answer. Entering the com, he notes that Hannibal is the one on the other end of the line.

"Hey." Face keeps his voice even, trying to hide the uncertainty that is biting painfully at his gut. Hannibal quickly replies.

"Hi, Face. You don't sound happy. What is going on?"

Face considers lying, but Hannibal had already seen through him trying to hide the pain in his voice.

"I…I don't really want to say..."

"Face? You are normally more eloquent in your speech. It's just you and me on the com. I hope that you trust me by now."

"I do Hannibal. It's just…" Face steels himself, deciding to dump his internal feeling out into the com.

"I don't know how to explain it."

Hannibal hums into his headset, continuing in a calm voice.

"Try at the beginning."

"Okay. I always have wanted to be what others expected. I thought it would get me friends and make me happy. I pretended to like things that others liked, going with the crowd. It has given me friends, but I feel so alone and like I have lost who I really am."

"Face, you have got me and the rest of the team."

"That's just it. I don't know if I'm being myself with you guys. I want to be." Face breaths harshly pulling back his emotions, attempting to keep the aching in his chest out of his voice.

"You're overthinking this kid. Calm down."

Taking a deep breath, Face endeavors to do as Hannibal says.

"Now. You know that Murdock enjoys your company and BA likes you as much as he likes anyone of us. I highly doubt, with the pseudo anonymity that has always been in our interactions, that you put much effort into being someone else. I know you so with certain individuals while on mission because you want something from them. Have you ever expected to gain anything other than the success of our teamwork with collaborating with me? You didn't even expect to be paid a portion of the profits."

"But if, even claiming that I lack motive, I have?"

Hannibal sighs into his headset, probably rethinking over the issue of reassuring his friend.

"If you are this concerned about it, doesn't that imply, on some level, that you're not faking it? You are openly discussion your concern with me; something that people trying to build themselves in a certain light in an attempt to achieve a steady friendship are not prone to do. Pulling your entire self into question in my mind by discussing this, goes against the idea of you trying to conform to being the person I expect."

Face silently sits after this second mini speech, confidence in his relations with the rest of the team slowly growing back.

"Thanks Hannibal."

"Sure thing Face. Want to play cards together?"

"Yeah."

"Wait a second."

A few minutes later the invitation to facetime appears on his screen. He accepts it and is greeted by the sight of a older teen grinning at him wearing a similar headset to his.

"Hey kid."

"Hi Hannibal.

Face smiles back and gives a little hand wave. They then proceed to play cards.


	7. Chapter 7

Murdock feels rather odd after he starts a new prescription. These drugs felt different that any of the others ever given to him. He goes on his computer like normal, endeavoring to ignore the weird biting feeling of wrongness in the back of his mind. The team has no mission scheduled, but hey had agreed to play a multiplayer game online. Everything is fine at first, conversation flowing like normal. BA is handing out his typical insults while Hannibal is trying to strategize with Face. Murdock mainly is just along for the ride, with some odd comments every now and then. The weird feeling grows more persistent as time passes; not only does it root itself in the back of his mind but also in a tight ball in his chest. BA's jocular insults start to actually sting when they should not.

Then Murdock makes a small mistake that makes them lose the match.

"Aw come on." Face is the first to react. Hannibal just sighs, while BA speaks second.

"What were you thinking Murdock?"

The comment is not really supposed to make him feel so awful, as it is said in the atmosphere of light-hearted game play. But it makes him feel wretched, for he had lost control over maintaining normal responses. Murdock feels despair rush over him and he begins to sub heavily. The reaction of his friends is instant. Hannibal berates BA for his words, while Face tries to console Murdock.

Murdock fights through his emotional disarray to say something, but is unable to do so for a few minutes. By this time Face sounds like he is freaking out over the lack of response, other than sobs, from his friend.

"Guys…"

The line falls dead silent as Murdock chokes out his first word in several minutes.

"It's not… BA's comment didn't hurt me. It's the meds I'm on."

Murdock breaths deeply, but cannot stop his flowing emotions or tears.

"Murdock, why are you on meds?"

Face asks the question in a voice filled with concern. Murdock folds his arms and bends over, hoping the pressure on his ribs will help ease his emotional imbalance.

"They're supposed to help me with stability. I'm trying some new ones today, so their not quite working right yet."

Murdock sniffles quietly, slowly recovering from his outburst of despair. BA then speaks up.

"I'm sorry for saying somethin that set you off."

"It's fine B.A. We are playing a game. Of course we'll complain about it and each other. It's part of the fun.:

Deep breaths are coming easier now, helping to remove the need to sob. Murdock focuses solely on talking to his friends.

"We could stop playing."

Hannibal's suggestion, while kind, is no what Murdock wants.

"No I'm fine now. Lets keep going."

The group continues the game, conversation silted at first because the three others are still worried for their friend. When they feel reassured of his continued wellbeing, conversation falls into its normal flow once more.

 **Hello! These last few chapters have been resting in my computer and so I decided to put them out there. I have a ton of love for the original show and this au was fun for me to mule over in the long hours of the day. Of course most of the ideas were never written down… Ah well. I know this is a weird story. But if you get the strange desire to write something based off of it, feel free. I think I'll leave it here. Maybe if I come across some notes I jotted down for this I might publish more chapters, but for now it is complete. If you want to talk to me about this story, or the A-Team, or anything really, I'd be honored if you PMed me! Thank you for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**The continuation of this story is thanks to a message from mmmdixie. I was pleased that someone cared to see this story get a bit further before concluding. So thank you for the message.**

B.A. walks around as he walks home, hoping to avoid any incidents. He already is in hot water with his mom for a small fight he had gotten into the week before. The reason for it had been valid, but his mother rather that he keep his nose clean of the local gang violence. He almost gets home with no incident. Almost.

A larger teenager steps out of an alley to stand in front of B.A. The armband on his left sleeve reveals him to be part of a newly created gang in the area. This gang had yet to figure out that messing with B.A. is a bad idea.

"Hey. You ain't wearin' a band and I don't remember you paying protection money."

B.A. snarls slightly.

"I ain't going to join your gang and I ain't payin' no protection money."

Two others step out of the alley, flexing their muscles in an attempt to intimidate. B.A. shifts his bag and shifts into a fighting stance.

"You should rethink that."

"No."

The fight goes fairly well, with B.A. getting only a couple of bruises and his opponents getting knocked out. Picking his bag back up, B.A. starts walking home again. Hopefully, his momma would not notice the dark splotches of bruises starting to cover his skin. His hope is not worthless as his momma notices everything.

"Scooter, did you get into a fight again?"

B.A. glances back at his mom as he moves through their apartment.

"Not really momma. I was jumped on the way home and fought them off."

His mothers eyes turn soft, losing the fierce look they had possessed before hand.

"Aw, Scooter. Are you alright?"

"Yes, momma."

He gives her a half grin. She comes over and hugs hers son, gently patting his back.

"Okay then, I'll leave you alone."

B.A. sees sadness in her eyes and hates himself for its existence. If he would just stop fighting in school, if the gang activity in the area would go down, maybe his momma, would be happier. He enters his room, growling under his breath at himself. He gets on his computer hoping to talk to one of his friends. The other three are on, having a lively discussion. B.A. joins in, though his insults and words have far less fire than usual. After a few hours of hanging out, Murdock and Face log off. Hannibal asks B.A. to stay on for a few more minutes.

"B.A. I know somethings wrong. I don't know what, but if you want to talk, I'll always be happy to lend an ear."

"Thanks, man. My neighborhood is just a little rough and it's making my momma sad."

"Is there anything I can do?"

" 'll settle down soon. My momma just worries about me and I hate causing her to feel that way."

B,A. listens as Hannibal hums in thought.

"I've got an idea. Hold on a minute."

B.A. hears Hannibal take off his headset and move away from the microphone. He then hears the phone ringing in his house. He exits his room to see his mom picking up the phone.

"This is the Baracus residence, who can I say is speaking?... Yes… Oh!"

His momma continues to listen as she stands still, her smile slowly growing. Tears quietly form in her eyes and slip from her eyes. B.A. freezes, having no idea what is happening. She does not look unhappy, but she is crying.

"Thank you. Good bye."

She places the phone down and then hugs B.A. tightly.

"Oh, Bosco. Your friend just called and said the nicest things about you. I'm glad you have such a nice friend."

B.A. smiles as he hugs his mother back, hiding his winces from the pain his bruises bring him. He is happy to see his mother's mood make such a shift.

'Thanks Hannibal."


	9. Chapter 9

One day in November during their almost daily meetup Hannibal decides to poses an interesting question.

"Hey who is here?"

"Murdock here, what's up?"

"BA here."

"Face, present."

"Good. So what are you all doing for Christmas?"

"Hannibal, what do you want?" BA's slightly annoyed, but mostly interested voice filters through the headsets.

"I'm just curious if you all want to meet up during Christmas break?"

Hannibal waits as a short pause drifts between the group. Face is the first to break the contemplative silence with Murdock mumbling during the second part of Face's sentence.

"Wait a second Hannibal. You realize we are in different states, right?"

"I can't leave my house."

While a tone of disbelief is coloring Face's words, Murdock's hold a tinge of sadness. Hannibal sighs in thought, letting his mind wind around the problem. He really wanted to see them all over Christmas and wanted to see them all in the same place. Hannibal had no place he had to be. Another voice breaks into this new round of silence.

"I have to be home on Christmas eve and Christmas day. But I can drive before and after that time.'

Hannibal hums in acknowledgment of BA's statement. So BA is supposed to be home on specific days and Murdock is unable to move around.

"I can't drive anywhere. But I don't have anywhere I especially want to be."

That accounted for Face then. Hannibal feels a plan forming, building of the information that he knows. He just needs a few more scraps of information from his teammates.

"When do each of you get out for Christmas break?"

The responses vary a little, combining to an average of two weeks. The plan became clearer, making Hannibal grin widely. A final response is needed to solidify it.

"Here's the plan that I haver, if you all want to meet up."

"Yeah," says BA somewhat enthusiastic.

"Definitely!" Murdock loudly proclaims.

"What's the plan Hannibal?" Face asks calmly with a tint of excitement hiding in his voice.

"I'll fly to BA's at the start of my break. BA will have already been on break for a few days. Then we drive to Face's place and we all head down to Murdock's. We'll spend a day or two together then all go back home. If it's alright with Murdock for us to stay there, and with you guys to drive all over.'

BA thinks the plan over and decides to ask his mother if he can participate.

"I think it's a good idea Hannibal. But we should all ask before we do something like this."

His suggestion is met with sounds of agreement. Face then speaks calmly.

"Let's talk again tomorrow after we all get our answer. Okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Then BA hears Murdock laugh before he yells.

"Alrighty, hear ya guys tomorrow!"

Everyone says their farewells and gets off. BA goes to ask his mother if it is okay for him to drive across the country with some friends. She says yes and expresses excitement over him having friends.


	10. Chapter 10

Face had gotten permission to go with his team during Christmas. The nuns had expressed confusion over the sudden request, but do not pester the young teenager too much over it. While Christmas is still over a month away, Face finds himself stressing over finding presents for his three computer friends. He could just buy them all computer related items, but that felt like too much of a cop out. Face sighs and decides to list what he knows about his friends. Murdock is obvious, since he is always babbling on about planes. Maybe a model or something will do. B.A. had mentioned his van several times, so something for that is needed. Face groans as he tries to come up with something for Hannibal. They had fewer conversations that helped him to figure out what the other teenager would like. Face knows that his leader chewed tons of gum, but Face has no idea which flavor Hannibal prefers.

He also knew that Hannibal enjoyed playing card games from the numerous times that they had played online together. The teenager sighs, deciding to figure it out while buying the others presents.

Face looks around the store, exhaling wearily. He had bought several model planes for Murdock and a set of handheld work lights and tools to use on his van. What he had not been able to find was a good present for Hannibal. Searching around the store, Face finally stumbles upon the perfect gift for the strategist. Smiling, Face purchases it. He hurries back to the orphanage, ready to wrap it up along with the rest of the presents he had gotten.

B.A. takes another look through the code he had created, noting things that were not running properly. Some of the systems he was trying to run with the code were acting uo. HE sighs, breathing deeply afterwards to release the tension in his shoulders. He stands from his computer and shifts his mind over to his van. It is currently running well, unlike the thing he had been crafting on his computer. While good at it, programing could get on his nerves, especially if he had a deadline. B.A. wanted all the presents for his friends to be just right. Hannibal, he had created protective software. For Murdock, he is creating a mod for the boys favorite game, adding more fantasy elements. Face's gift is a protection wall that is better at blocking traces.

While fun to create, they took time and care to construct. B.A. just hoped he is to finish all the gifts before they all met for the holiday.

Murdock paces his room, glancing quickly around. He needs to come up with ideas for his teammates presents. They had already given him on of the greatest gifts, friendship. So he wanted to show his appreciation. But what to give them? And how to go about about getting the items? The stress nips at his unsteady, nerves, inching him closer to a break down. Giving up on his own cognitive ability, Murdock goes to ask his grandmother what she thinks would make a good present

Walking into the kitchen, the young man moves to sit at the counter. He watches quietly for a second as his grandmother moves around the stove.

"Hey, Grandma? What do you think would make good presents?"

The elderly woman pauses for a second before continuing her preparation of a meal. She seems to be contemplating the idea very seriously.

"Perhaps you could make them some sort of food. They are coming to our house."

Murdock thinks over this idea, but ends up shaking his head.

"I want to give them something that they can keep."

An idea strikes him and he rushes from the room to grab a bit of paper. He writes the gift ideas down and the returns to his grandmother. He asks when he could go out and purchase the items.

They went that evening to multiple stores. Murdock grabbed all of the supplies that he needed for his friends. He purchased several war and strategy books for Hannibal, a nice watch for Face, a necklace that caught his interest for B.A. and supplies to make four teddy bears.

Hannibal feels that he knows his team pretty well. He had been working with them for a while. But when it comes to gathering ideas for presents, the teams leader is at a lost. He searches around the internet for ideas. Murdock is easy to to figure out. He had found several sarcastic t-shirt's and the other teenager's favorite show on DVD. Adjusting his search for something for B.A., he found a special release of a rare game that he had heard the other longingly talk about and a few items for working on computers. When looking for Face's gift, Hannibal set his sights on a couple of books that had the world's greatest scams and how to manipulate others. Feeling satisfied with his choices, Hannibal sets about completing the plans for the Christmas meetup. Buying the appropriate plane tickets and sorting out a few tinier details is quick work for the team leader. Hannibal rocks back in his chair, wondering if the whole idea had been a good one. He hoped his team would like each other in person almost as much as they liked each other when talking in the headsets.

 **The next chapter might take a bit as the notes are less straightforward and schools starting. But, I will keep my promise. This story will be concluded better.**


	11. Chapter 11

Hannibal walks through the airport, quietly looking around for B.A. While he is unsure of the exact look of the other teen, he knew that his teammate would be holding a sign for him. He spots a gold covered teenager, remembering that B.A. had a particular interest in gold jewelry. Upon seeing a sign in the disgruntled looking teenager's hands that bears his codename. Hannibal walks over and greets the other.

"Hey, B.A. Ready for the long drive?"

The muscular teenager looks a Hannibal with a half smile.

"Yah man. I kinda wish I didn't have to enter the airport though. Being this close to so many planes is freaking me out.''

Hannibal claps the other on the back and both move towards the exit.

"Ma wants to meet you before we head out."

This statement is made in a tone that Hannibal knew would allow no argument. Not that he really wanted to anyway. Hannibal hums in agreement, smiling. He sees B.A. un-tense, perhaps the other boy had expected him to fight him about this. After placing his luggage in one of the B.A.'s van. Pulling out of the parking lot, B.A. begins speaking.

"Don't mention what we do to my ma, okay? She has an idea of what is going on, but I don't her to be more stressed over me if I can help it."

Hannibal nods.

"Of course B.A. I wasn't planning on talking about our work at all. I don't think Murdock's guardian knows."

"So does that mean you did not bring a computer?"

B.A. looks over at the team leader with a quirked eyebrow.

"Nope! Brought a laptop. But, I promised no missions, so no missions."

B.A. huffs, satisfied with the answer.

The drive takes a little while, giving the two teenagers the opportunity to talk. The conversation starts and stops as they adjust to having visual cues to go with the voices they knew. It does not take them long to become used to each other, and soon words are flowing back and forth between the two.

Hannibal looks around the neighborhood with interest as B.A. parks his van and leads the older teenager to the apartment building that he lives in. Silence falls between the two, relaxed and comfortable.

B.A. unlocks the door to his home, opening it to allow his friend entrance. His mother comes into sight, having heard the creak of the hinges.

"Oh, Scooter, this your friend?"

"Yes, mama. This is Hannibal."

"How are you doing, ma'am?"

"Quite well thank you. How 'bout yourself?"

"I'm well. Nice to meet you."

The woman forgoes the handshake offered and goes right into hugging the teenager. Hannibal takes a second to respond, but he does hug back after a second.

"It's always nice to meet a polite friend of Bosco's."

Mrs. Baracus releases Hannibal, moving back into her kitchen. B.A. follows her, so Hannibal does as well. On the counter there is a bag filled to the brim with all sorts of food; homemade and store bought. Mrs. Baracus lifts the bag and hands it to B.A.

"Now, Scooter, don't eat all of this before you reach your final destination, okay? Save some for the other boys."

"Yes, mamma."

"Both of you be safe, you hear?"

Hannibal nods his head and B.A. hugs his mother goodbye.

Face stares out of the orphanage's window, waiting eagerly for his friend's arrival. B.A. and Hannibal were supposed to be here any minute to pick him up and start the drive down to Murdock's house. He nervously rechecks his luggage, making sure he has everything that is necessary. Clothes? Check. Presents? Check. Laptop? Check. Overnight stuff? Check. Everything appears to be squared away, ready for him to leave. He fingers the straps of his bag nervously, worried thoughts rising in his mind. Would the rest of the team like him as he is in person?

Sure they all get along on the comms and Hannibal liked him well enough when they had seen each other through the screen, but… He bites his lip and shifts on his feet. In the distance, he spots a black van. It comes closer and closer, feeling as if the minutes were creeping slowly along for hour yet they also felt like they were hurtling by, too fast for Face to collect his thoughts. Two teenagers exit the vehicle when it comes to a stop, and knock on the front door of the orphanage.

Face lifts his language and bounds down the stairs. He hears a nun talking to the two, getting them to fill out the paperwork that would allow him to leave.

"Hannibal."

The teenager he recognizes turns around and waves. B.A. also turns and nods to Face before returning to the paperwork with Hannibal. Face walks up to them as they finish the final pages.

"Ready to roll kid?"

Hannibal grins at Face, gesturing to the door. Face nods, clutching his luggage. B.A. nods again and all of them leave the building. Hannibal takes the shotgun seat and Face sits right behind B.A.

The journey is long and exhausting, filled with many breaks. B.A. plays the radio for a while, causing the other boys to sing along. Sometimes they talked; many times they yelled. Sleeping in a hotel turned into a competition of cards between Hannibal and Face while B.A. went to sleep. The next few days it was more of the same. On the last day, Face fell asleep in the back of the van three hours out from their destination.

Hannibal settles back in his chair, starting a quiet conversation with B.A.

"Think Murdock's alright?"

"Yeah. He seemed excited the last time we all talked. Wouldn't shut up and let anyone else talk. Whats up Hannibal?"

"We never have gotten a straight answer for his use of medication. Not that we have to know, but I am concerned."

B.A. frowns and taps on the wheel as Hannibal sighs.

"I am too."

Face, who had woken up slightly before the conversation, but did not want to be awake and currently is trying to fool his body back into sleep, mules over this inside of his mind. He also felt concerned for his friend's wellbeing. He mentally curls away from the anxiety-inducing thoughts, trying harder to fade back into sleep. His two older companions shift their conversation to a more comfortable topic after a moment's pause and Face drifts back to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Upon arriving at Murdock's address, Hannibal turns in his seat and shakes Face awake. The younger teenager yawns, stretching and popping his arm joints. The three teammates exit the van, looking towards the two storied house with some trepidation. Hannibal leads his group up to the porch, knocking firmly on the door. They hear banging from within the house and a face appears in the window just to the right of the door. Hannibal gives a small wave and the face disappears with a smile. The door clicks open, swinging inwards. A smaller teenager grins at them, eyes sparkling with delight.

"You guys came!"

"Of course, Murdock."

Hannibal grins back. The young teenager motions the group into the house, each stating their name as they pass across the threshold of the home. Murdock nods to each person and repeats their name back once. Then the teenager moves on.

"There are cookies in the kitchen. Grandma Emma helped me make 'em for y'all."

Murdock walks with Face at the front of the group, bouncing excitedly. The four come into the kitchen that is filled with the smell of fresh cookies. Murdock's grandmother is moving around quietly and smiles widely when she spots the small group.

"Welcome boys."

She pulls out a jug of milk as the team sits down at the counter, passing each boy a glass when she walks past. The cookies are all sitting on a plate. Murdock stretches in his seat to reach the cabinet that is over his head. Pulling out smaller plates, the teenager passes them to the others.

"So…"

Face begins awkwardly. He had gotten used to the other two while in the van, but Murdock is a new acquaintance. Murdock grins at the group.

"How was the trip? Did you see anything interesting? Do you guys want to play a game?"

Hannibal huffs at the excitement the youngest teenager is displaying. B.A. gives Murdock a half grin. Face decides to answer.

"It was fine. Nothing that interesting happened on the way here."

Small talk continues for a small period after this, all slightly stilted. After they finish their cookies, Murdock pulls them into the living room. Internally he is anxious that he has not been able to connect with the group. He knows he had joined them later, both in the actual hacking missions and in this meet up. On the outside, he still smiles and acts cheery, hoping no one notices the fear that is swelling in his chest. Hoping to ease the atmosphere he pulls out a game.

"This is Coup. It's a lying game."

Murdock explains the rules and actions of each card. Then the game starts. Apparently what had been needed to break the ice was a chance to lie, steal, assassinate and throw coups. B.A. does not get into the game as much as the others but enjoys the overreaction that they display at most any action within the game. Murdock is out first, followed soon by B.A. Face and Hannibal lie and steal until one is able to assassinate the other ending the game. Face shrugs at his loss and shakes the victor's hand. Then, they play again, talking more animatedly to each other. Murdock feels the anxiety that had taken residence in his chest fade away. The team is a unit and acting like it.

—- -

After another hour of different games, the team is called by Murdock's grandmother to return to the kitchen. When they enter, the smell of food smashes into their noses.

"That smells really good."

Face pipes up, grinning widely at the elderly woman. She smiles back, and thanks him. She encourages them all to take as much as they can stand to eat. Quietly, Christmas music plays in the background, mostly drowned out by the loud, happy conversation at the table. Desert in pulled out and all the boys push themselves to eat more, loving the taste. When they finally rise from the table, they stumble sleepily feeling satisfied. None of them want to separate to the different guest rooms to sleep, so they all pile on the couch and put on a classic Christmas movie. Sleep takes them one by one as Rudolph's story is told.

Murdock wakes in the middle of the night, unsettled. Blinking blurrily, he glances around the room. Everyone is still there, passed out on the coach. He breath deeply settling back into his cushion, drawing the blanket closer. His team seems so calm. Murdock wishes that this moment could last forever. It's warm, safe, and happy. Squeezing his eyes tightly, he tries to preserve the moment within his mind. Holding his breath helps lock the joy into his memory. Hopefully, this will not be the final time they are together like this. Hopefully. Murdock slips back into sleep.

B.A. got up at about one in the morning. He did this purposefully, with a distinct mission in mind. Quietly he extracts himself from the couch, careful not to wake anybody up. He then hurries out to the van and takes out all of the presents. He runs back and forth a few times to accomplish this. Gently he places each beneath the tree that is already standing in the living room. He checks over the arrangement and is pleased. B.A. flicks tree lights on, casting a multitude of colors into the room that falls on every surface, including his team. Perfect. Now he can relax. Slinking back over to the couch, the teenager melts into the cushions.

Face returns to the real world, just barely escaping from his dreams. He tries not to move too much, hoping to go back. But, to no avail. The room is eerily quiet. Shadows from the tree reach out into the room, cast by lights Face know were not on when he had fallen asleep. Presents are beneath the plant, which also had not been there when he had fallen asleep. Not wanting to be alone, he shakes Murdock awake. The other teenager sits up and seems excited by the atmosphere of the room. Murdock then whispers to Face.

"Wanna go make some food since we are the only ones up?"

Face considers this and then nods. Murdock leads the way to the kitchen and begins instructing Face on the proper way to make sausage balls. The two work the mixer, occasionally shushing at it when it makes a particularly loud steering noise. Face watches intently when Murdock rolls the first ball.

"One, two, three. Done. Not too big not too small."

Face nods and tries to complete the task. Murdock smiles and shakes his head, pinching off some of the mixture.

"That was too much."

Face nods and tries again. He gets better only having Murdock comment a few more times. Apparently, they are not as quiet as they thought they were being, because Hannibal is now in the room. He joins them in rolling, instructed a few times by Murdock. They all quietly talk, with a few chuckles here and there.

Face washes as Murdock puts the balls into the stove and turns it on, intent on learning every bit of information that he can from this. The group continues to quietly chat in the kitchen as the oven does its thing. When Murdock pulls out the first batch, the smell of them fills the air. This seems to have awoken B.A. as the teenager stumbles into the kitchen yawning. There is still some mixture left to roll. Face watches as Murdock shows B.A. how to do it. B.A. picks up on the skill quicker than either Hannibal or Face.

 **And now we are at the point I have not planned out. It may take a bit, but a promise is a promise.**


	13. Chapter 13

Hannibal snatches up one of the sausage balls from the first batch and tastes it. The other members of his team do the same. Hannibal hums at the flavor, grinning at his companions. They all seem to have a similar enjoyment of the food. Murdock puts the rest of the batch into a large mixing bowl and motions for the group to go to the living room with the food.

"Take this. I'll head in after I put the next batch into the oven."

Hannibal takes the bowl and leads Face and B.A. back to the couch. He admires the tree with his companions. He waves at Murdock's grandmother when she arrives in the living room. She smiles at the three teenagers on her couch and then continues into the kitchen. Hannibal goes back to looking at the tree. Face tentatively starts talking to B.A., discussing favorite Christmas movies. Hannibal chimes in occasionally. Soon, Murdock comes into the room with his grandmother and some more sausage balls. Murdock settles back into the couch while his grandmother sits in the recliner. Hannibal hums, glancing around.

"Are we ready to start?"

He asks the group, itching to see his team's reaction to their gifts. B.A. nods while Murdock and Face exclaim their interest. Murdock bounces off the couch and announces that he will go back and forth from the tree, acting as 'Santa'. He places a gift in each of his teammate's hands and settles back on the couch with one of his own. Face goes first in opening his present. Hannibal watches closely, recognizing the wrapping paper as his own. Face tears into the present's wrappings, letting out an excited noise at the books.

"This is great! I gonna learn all I can from these. Thanks, Hannibal."

The older teenager smiles and nods, pleased. Then he watches as B.A. unwraps a gift that has Murdock looking nervous. An interesting looking necklace is revealed which brings a smile to B.A.'s face. He puts the necklace on, and Murdock relaxes. Hannibal turns to the gift in his own hands. He finds a cd inside. B.A. speaks up.

"It's protective software."

Hannibal thanks the other teenager. Murdock, having been eagerly looking at the gift in his hands, happily tares into the packaging. Face watches on, tapping his fingers nervously. When Murdock sees the model plane, he croons and clutches it to his chest.

—

Things continue in this manner, each opening a present in turn. Hannibal is happy with the gift of strategy books from Murdock and a chess board from Face. He challenged the other boy to a game after unwrapping presents is over. Face happily wears the watch he had received from Murdock and is eager to install B.A.'s protection wall into his computer. B.A. is happy about the tools for his van from Face and clutches the rare game from Hannibal. The extra bits for computers is also appreciated. Murdock throws on one of the sarcastic shirts from Hannibal and immediately announces that he loves it. He longingly looks at the tv show DVDs and the game mod, excited of the prospect of using either. During this gift unwrapping, Murdock's grandmother snapped photos without the group really noticing

They spend the rest of the afternoon watching even more holiday movies, rising from the couch for lunch and dinner. Throughout the session they comment on movies, pointing out different bits and making remarks. During their viewing of Die Hard, Hannibal's phone rumbles in his pocket. He leaves the living room, checking the screen. An email for a job. He looks over the details, thinking over the mission. It is a white hat hacker job and is not time sensitive. Something to do when the team all get home. He tucks his phone away and returns to the group. Hannibal had promised no missions, so no missions.

When it comes time to leave, the group reluctantly say their goodbyes to Murdock. The boy hands out the teddy bears that he made for his team members, each sharing looks with their new owners. Murdock's grandmother takes a final picture of them all together holding their new bears. Final farewells are given and three members of the team drive off.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Do you think we'll meet up again?"

"Probably. You boys get along well. I can't see you going your separate ways and never crossing paths once more. Friends like that don't come around often and are not inclined to leave your life quickly. They'll be back or one-day you'll go to them."

"Thank's Grandma"

 **The end. Man, I love these guys. Definitely influenced my childhood with their show. Big thanks to all those who read this story. Super special thanks to mmmdixie. I hope you liked this ending.**

 **I think I said this before, anyone can take this idea or an element they liked about it and build off of it. I think this is personally where I stop writing for this au. If you want to come up with your own ideas of their future, that's awesome.**


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